An ailing veterinary profession: Six diagnostic indicators

Just 22 percent of veterinarians believe the veterinary profession is in a healthy state, according to a new study from Veterinary Pet Insurance and Veterinary Economics magazine. This research, summarized on the following pages, reflects the dollars and cents problems plaguing veterinarians—from young associates mired in personal debt to the vulnerable owners of solo veterinary practices. The diagnosis? It’s bleak. These financial ills may even be a cancer that undoes the profession. Is it too late or is there a chance for a turnaround? Read on to find out more.

RESULT 1: ASSOCIATES ARE STRUGGLING FINANCIALLYHalf of all associates—and 81 percent of Gen Y associates—are paying down student debt. Nearly a third of associates rate their financial condition as poor; 30 percent rate it as moderate.

Veterinarians’ personal debt
Veterinary associates are paying $530 in personal student loans every month, compared to owners, who are paying only $185.

RESULT 2: PRACTICE OWNERSHIP IS INCREASINGLY ELUSIVEPractice ownership is not realistic for many associates. While many dream of owning their own veterinary practice someday, a majority consider the prospect unrealistic—due primarily to their high student debt load.

Are you interested in practice ownership?
Men show most interest, with Gen Y veterinarians being more interested than Gen Xers.

Do you have the financial means to run your own practice?
In the current economy, a combination of student loans and the difficulty of trying to make ends meet makes practice ownership a challenge among newer graduates.

Single income, more debt
Overall, veterinary associates in a single income household on average have an especially burdensome debt load, with nearly 40 percent of their monthly income going to pay down debt.

RESULT 3: PRACTICES ARE STRUGGLING FINANCIALLYVeterinary practices aren’t doing too great either. While a third of owners say their practice is doing well, an equal number say it’s doing poorly. Fortunately, nearly half of practices saw a positive bump in patient traffic and revenues in 2012 compared with 2011.

How is your practice doing financially?
While total owners are equally split in their perception of their practices’ financial performance, men perceive that their businesses are doing better than women do.

RESULT 4: SMALLER PRACTICES ARE STRUGGLING THE MOSTThe most vulnerable practices are the smaller, more typical one- and two-doctor practices. They are performing much more poorly than larger practices.

Income by practice type
Veterinarians at larger practices report higher personal and household income than those at smaller practices.*

*Small practices were considered those with two or fewer full-time equivalent veterinarians; larger practices those with three or more.

RESULT 5: VETERINARY PRACTICE OWNERS ARE WORKING MORE (AND LONGER) THAN THEY WANT TOOne of the more poignant findings of this study is that a majority of owners are working more hours than they would like because they personally need the money or the practice needs the revenue. And more than a fourth of all owners are planning to delay retirement due to the poor financial condition of the practice. Traditionally, the value of the practice has been the veterinarian’s nest egg. Not so much anymore.

RESULT 6: VETERINARIANS ARE OVERWHELMED BY FINANCIAL MATTERSA very large number of veterinarians are not at all confident in their ability to manage finances.

Study methodology
The primary objective of this study was to obtain a broader picture of the financial health of veterinarians, including more detailed information about household incomes and debt loads among companion animal practitioners. To that end, Veterinary Pet Insurance and Veterinary Economics magazine conducted a nationally representative survey of veterinarians to understand their personal financial health and the current financial state of their practices. Here are the details: